Fareway celebrating 80 years as neighborhood grocer

By Gena Johnson Boone News-Republican

Wednesday

May 16, 2018 at 1:34 PMMay 18, 2018 at 2:44 PM

Fareway Stores, Inc. is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year with a new logo and even a new look for employees, but what won’t change is the family environment the store is known for, company officials say.

The Boone-based grocer’s official anniversary landed on May 12.

The anniversary gave current president and COO Fred Greiner a chance to recollect on the company’s past as he looks to turn over the reigns after 50 years with the company.

“Those people will always be a part of me and the history book,” Greiner said, referencing “The First Seventy-Five Years” Fareway history book. “The achievements throughout Fareway’s (80 years): seeing us (Fareway) as society changed - and some of the biggest changes were the buying habits of the customers.

Greiner said the store changed as society changed with the invention of the microwave and how companies packaged products to accommodate that.

“There was a lot more frozen (food) available,” he said.

Other technological advancements over the years included the development of the first scanning system, which replaced having to put price stickers on all the merchandise, in 1981.

“We went to bar codes and scanning it … that was a huge change when the computerized age came upon us,” he said.

“About that same time we went to, what we call today, boxed beef. It used to be all our beef was brought to the store and we processed it from a side of beef or a hog … whereas today we buy those items already processed down into subprimals and then we process them until they are case ready. That was a huge change that Fareway had in 1982.”

As technology has improved, Greiner said so has the way Fareway has tracked merchandise.

“It was also that way with the groceries we sold,” Greiner said looking back on how merchandise was sold while working in store. “We used to dump 100 pound bags of potatoes and then have to scoop them up and put them in smaller 10 pound bags and then we would set them out for the customer to buy — we had to do that in the back room.”

He recalls rolling wooden barrels of vinegar into the store.

“We would roll them into the store, tip them up right, drill a hole in the top, and put a pump in,” Greiner said. “Then a customer would come in with their glass bottle and we would fill it and we sold the cider vinegar too.

“There was just a lot more physical work involved back in those days vs. today.”

Although times have changed, Greiner said waiting on and taking care of the customers hasn’t.

“That’s always been the same, treat them how you would like to be treated,” Greiner said.

Greiner is the first president to not be a family member in the family-owned company.

“I’ve worked with every member of the family in one capacity or another over the years and they have treated me like family throughout those years,” Greiner said. “It (Fareway) always has had the family atmosphere because the number of levels between the store and upper management — we try to keep that simple and keep an open door.

Greiner said the company has no plans of changing its basic principle of being closed on Sundays.

“We feel that being closed on Sundays, they (employees) can spend time with their families and we started from day one with Fareway,” Greiner said. “With Fareway it is about family and caring about those you work with and helping them out when you can.”

Fareway will also be offering some in-store specials to celebrate its anniversary.

Greiner said the store will be doing a lot of promotion with its new logo. Some stores logos will change quickly while others will be phased in over the coming weeks and months.

The new logo, Greiner said, is to emphasis that Fareway is all about meat and grocery.

“It’s just part of a refresh as we reach 80 years and re-branding a little bit, but still sticking to our core principles,” Greiner said.

Fareway has three meat stores — two in Nebraska and the recently purchased building for one in West Ames, which Greiner said is slated to be open in September. With those three stores and the company’s full grocery stores, Fareway will have 125 locations by the end of this year.

“Basically the company has quadrupled during my time just from my time in the corporate office from 1989 it’s more than doubled,” Greiner said. “To be part of that growth and seeing that happen is rewarding too.”

Customers could see different employee uniforms later this year. The unveiling of the new uniforms is about six months away, officials said.

“They’ll be professional, yet functional,” Greiner said. “There will be a little bit of a change up here as we move into the later part of the year.

“It will be a different look, but customers will still be able to recognize who the employees are.”

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